A Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) system, for example, can be used to deliver high-definition digital entertainment and telecommunications such as video, voice, and high-speed Internet to subscribers over an existing cable television network. The cable television network can take the form of an all-coax, all-fiber, or hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network. A multiple service operator (MSO) can deliver these services to subscribers by using a cable modem termination system (CMTS) located at a headend and cable modems (CMs) and customer premise equipment (CPE) devices, such as set-top boxes, multimedia terminal adapters (MTAs), and gateway devices, located at subscriber premises.
A CPE device can either connect to the CM's LAN interfaces, can be embedded with the CM, or can be a separate standalone device. There has been an emergence of devices that embed additional functionality with a CM such as telephony, home networking, and video provided by CPE devices. The DOCSIS specification identifies these embedded devices as eDOCSIS devices. The DOCSIS specification identifies the CM included in the eDOCSIS device as an “embedded CM” or “eCM.” Each of the various embedded applications can be identified as an embedded service/application functional entity (eSAFE). The eCM can acts as an entity distinct from other the eSAFEs that are embedded in the eDOCSIS device.
MSOs or vendors, for example, may want to upgrade a CM's firmware and/or software (hereinafter referred to as “software”), for example, to improve performance, accommodate new functions and features, or correct a design deficiency. Software on a CM can be upgraded by downloading a new software image to the CM over the network. The CM can include an upgrade client that implements a download protocol, such as the Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP), to download the new software image.
Similarly, for an eDOCSIS device, MSOs or vendors may want to upgrade any combination of the components in the device (e.g., only the eCM, the eCM and one or more eSAFEs, or only one or more eSAFES). An eDOCSIS device can include an upgrade client that implements a download protocol, such as a TFTP file transfer protocol, to download a new software image or images.